Air-purifier.



W. G. R. BRAEMER.

AIR PURIFIER. APPLICATION IILED JULY 11,19oa.

908,388. Patented Dec. 29, 1908.

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I I 1 l I I l I I l l l I l 1 I? M I glnucnl'oz 19i hwooeo W. G. R. BRAEMER. AIR PURIFIER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 11, 190a.

' 908,388. Patentd Dec. 29, 1-908.

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Q/Vi If" eases attoznu dent of the city midifying apparatus.

- I curring in the building or room being sup UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM G. annAEMEn, 0F BUFrALb, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO WARREN WEBSTER &

com an A CORPORATION or raw masav'. Ara-roams.

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, WILLIAM G. R. Bann- MER, a citizen of the United States, and resiof Buiialo, county of Erie, State of New York, have invented an Improvement in Air-Purifiers, of which the folowing is a specification. I a

My invention has reference to air purifiers, and consists of certain im rovements, which are fully set forth in the ollowing specification, and shown in the accom anying drawings, which form a part thereo This application is a division of my application Serial Number 410,188, filed January 10th, 1908 and is especially directed to hu- My object mainly, is to provide capacity for maintaining any desired. fixed absolute or-relative humidities in the building or room, to suit the requirements.

Incidentally to the above ob'ects, I cause the air to be cleansed or purified.

In carrying my invention into practice, I firstheat .the fresh air to such a degree that when treated to a water spray or vapor of a given and constant temperature, it will absorb the desiredamount of moisture to give the absolute humidity reguired, and this humidified air may, if not 0 the desired relative humidity and temperature, be reheated to raise it to the required temperature and to lower its relative humidity to that necessary and desired for said temperature, and suc conditions may, be maintained by automatically'varying the initial temperature of the freshair to vary the humidity commensurately and inversely with the conditions ocplied with the air.

The invention may be commercially em-v ployed in its preferred form in ap comprising a c circulated by a aratus amber through whic airis blower and in which it is treated with moisture, combined with means spray or-vapor of water at a constant temperature to the air in its for supplying a pasmeans for varysage through t 45 chamber,

mg the tem erature of the air before being treated to t e spray or va r of water, an automatic means under t e control: of the conditions of the air after treated to the spray or vapor of water for varying the initia temperature of the air in accordance with the conditions of the air delivered to Specification of Letters Patent.

Original application filed January 10, 1908, Serial No. 410,188. Divided and this semi No. 443,000.

heated air has been huml Patented nee-'29, 1908.

application filed July 11; mos.

tures above sfpecified, will be better understood by re erence to the drawings, in Which:- a

Figure l is a section side elevation of an air purifying apparatus embodying my invention Fig. 2 1s a cross section of the same on line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a sectional plan view of the same; Fig. 4 is a cross section of one of the eliminator bars; and Fig. 5 is a cross section of a modification of the eliminator bar shown in Fig. 4.

A is the air chamber, B is the eliminator therein, 0 is the water spraying pipe, and H is the blower for causing the air to be drawn through the chamber and flue H leading tothe building or room to be supplied with the humidified air. The in-,

coming fresh air first passes through the temring coil E which imports to it the desired list, and where the-su ply of steam to the said coils is not variab e under regulation, the temperature of the air which passes through the chamber A may be regulated by allowing more or less fresh air to pass through a by-pass under the regulation of a valve F as more fully shown in Fig. 1. By means of the coils E and the by-pass valve F, a mixture of hot gas and cool air may be rovided in the chamber A which will give t, e requisite amount of temperature necessary to enable the air to take up the desired uantity of moisture when it passes through t e water sprays from the spraying i e C. After-the '(liiihd to such a degree as to contain the predetermined absolutehumjdity, it is passed through the sliminator B wherein the excess of moisture is removed and returned to the tank D below the sprayingpg and the eliminator. The water in the tan ismsintained at a constant temperature in any suitable manner. The particular means for maintaining this constant temperature is shown, for exam le, in this apg li' cation as a steam nozzle 18 adapted to discharged into the charge directly into the water, a valve L to a control the flow of steam, and a thermm static rod M which under the influence of the heat of the water opens or closes the steam valve to maintain the temperature or the water at that temperature which has been predetermined upon. The thermostatic regulating device M may be so arranged that it I may be adjusted by the screw m to vary the 5 time of opening and closing of the valve, and

raise the temperature of thehumidified air to' that which 1s required for the building or plied. This reheating device may be of any of the well known characters and, for example, such as shown by the tem ering coils E combined withthe valve and y-pass. Ordinarily, a thermostatic device is employed with this reheating device for the urpose of maintaining the temperature of t e air delivered to the room remaining constant. These devices are not shown, as they form no special part of the present invention.

0 is a motor of any suitable construction, that shown being of the diaphragm variety, and this motor by means of connections 0 may operate either or both of the valves F to the by-pass to open or close it and the steam valve F for the tem ering coils E, the object being to automatica ly control the temperature of the air which may be contained in'the chamber A before reaching the water spray. This motor 0 is operated by com ressed air which passes from a compressor 3 through pipes P P and a pressure reducing device P of any suitable character. arranged at the junction ofthe'pipes P P.

N is a humidistat of any suitable construction and may be arranged in thepart G of the chamber A intermediate of'the eliminator B and the blower H and this humidistat may allows the pressure of the air in the pipe P and motor to increase with the result that the motor will close the valve F and thereby insure the air entering the chamber A bein ofa higher temperature, in which case it absorb more moisture from the water spray,

compartment therein to which the air is sup-' have an air pipe connection P with the pipe trolled by a mechanismdependent upon the.

bosses to whether either or both are employed) to vary the temperature of the air commensurately with the re uirements sothat the humidity of the air w ich is delivered to the room by the blower H shall be constant or substantiall constant, both as to the absolute and re ative humidities, and moreover that the said relative humidity may be constant with a definite temperature of the air in the room.

In place of or in conjunction with the 80. humidistat N in the part G of the chamber A, I may employ a humidistat N in the room or compartment to be sup lied with air, and this may be connected wit the pipe P bya ipe P In fact the humidistats may be ocated anywhere, so long as they are affected by the air which has been treated to the humidifyingapparatus. Thesehumidistats are adjusted to operate for a' given absolute or relative humidity. For example, the humidistat N "might be adjusted with respect to the absolute humidity required, whereas the humidistat N may be adjusted with res ect to the relative humidity.

The e iminator B may be of any suitable construction, but the form illustrated in the drawing has been found excellently adapted for the purpose. This consists of three or more series of trough-shaped bars B, each series comprising bars arranged one above the other with spaces between them and the successive series being staggered withtrela tion to the next series adjacent, as will be understood by reference to Fig. 1. Each trough-shaped bar forms in its u per part a gutter in w ich the water may co ect and run ongitudinally and be discharged at one end into a compartment A and by which it may v be conveyeddown'into the tank D. These bars, may so as to induce the water to run to one end. Th3 bars may be made as indicated in Figs. 4 an '5.

Referring to Fig. 4, the front plate B is riveted at B to the rear plate B which latterhas its lower edge extended beyond 7 the plate B and its up eredge bent inward as at B The plates and B are arranged obliquely to each other and the obliquity of "these plates is in opposite directions so as to form substantially a V-shape cross section with obstructin shouldered portions B and B which aside om giving strength may act to catch water and dirt. i In the construction shown in Fig. 5, the general arran ement of the arts is substantially simfiar to that of ig. 4, except that in this case the plate B is not so deep and the lower edge'of the late 13 is bent backward so as to form a c annel or groove if desired, have slight. obliquity, 110

. which passes below the approximately 55 between the shculder B and the bent portion I of the fplate B In this case, the lower free 7 edge 0 the plate B need not extend beyond the plane of the inclined portionof'the plateB 1 In the operation of the machine, the moist air strikes the plates B and is deflected downward and around the portions B, the I latter catching any excessive moisture which l may be driven downward along the surface I of the plates B or carried in suspension by the air which strikes the shouldered portions The water collected by these shouldered l portions together with any dirt, such as soot, contained in the water globules, is caused to; flow downward into the trough-shaped bar 1 immediately below and by it conveyed laterf ally out of the air circulation. The air shouldered portions Bi strikes the plates B of the trough-shaped bars immediately below and is guided upwardly against the shouldered portions B which remove anyadditional .air or dirt, the same running backward into the trough portion of the bars, and thence laterally out of circulation of the air.

Having now described the general construction of the apparatus and the function of the various parts, I will now point out the manner in which the apparatus may be used for producing definite results which conform to the requirements specified in the first part of this specification. Assuming that the air which is to be supplied to the room in the building is required to be at Fahr. and 55 per cent. relative humidity, the following operation of the machine would produce this result. The air entering the charm her A would by means of the tempering coils E, supplemented by the by-pass valve F be brought to approximately 56 Fahn, and at this temperature it is brought into contact with water spray or vapor which by test will give to the humidified air a temperature of Fahr. when leaving the eliminator B and containing 4% grains of moisture per cubic foot. This will give such an absolute humidity to the air at 55 temperature which, when said air is transferred by the blower H. through the reheating device B, may be brought to a temperature of 70 Fahr. with a relative humidit of 55. Having determined this condition by experiment, the operation of the apparatus'may be maintained so as to continue to supply air into the room at 70 Fahr. and a humidity of 55 by means of the operation of the humidistats N or N in connection with the temperature regulating devices for the air preliminary to the treatment by the water spray or vapor. As before pointed out, should the humidity l in the room fall below the normal, the hul midistat N will instantly put the valves F or F or both of them into operation to increase e temperature of the air before being treated with the water spray or vapor to enl able it to reach a higher degree of humidity before being delivered to the blower, and in this Way raising the humidity of the room until the pro .r humidity is again established, in wh-ic case the operation of the humidistat once more reduces the temperature of the inflowing air to the chamber A, bringing it to the normal condition. The same mode of regulation will take place under the control of the humidistat N, it .onl being necessary stat that it adapts itself to the conditions of absolute humidity in the chamber G as distinguished from the relative humidity in the room containing the humidistat N.

The objection to using the automatic control of the steam to the coils E is that the change of temperature in the coils E is .slow, and consequently in the preferred form of apparatus the operation of a by-pass valve F is more preferable. While both of these regulating valves F F may be employed, it is evident that either by properly proportioning the apparatus, but in practice we prefer to produce the regulation of the temperature of the inflowin-g air by means of the bypass valve F. In some cases heated air of definite and constant temperature from other sources may be available and in such instances, and where the relative humidity need not be very accurately maintained, the desired results may be secured by passing the said heated air through the spray of water of constant temperature, eliminating the excess of moisture and subsequent raising of the temperature to lower the humidity.

While I prefer the general construction of the ap aratus herein set out, I do not restrict myself to the minor details as these may be modified in various ways Without departing from the spirit of the invention.

in this case to so adjust the umidimay be dispensed with I I claim as new, and ters Patent, is:

1. In an air purifying apparatus, the combination of a chamber through which air is circulated, means for heating the air in its passage into the chamber, means for providing water in a subdivided condition through which the air is passed and maintaining it at a substantially constant temperature whereby a predetermined absolute humidity may be obtained for the air at a given temperature, means for removing the excess of moisture from the air, and means controlled by the conditions of the humidified air for re ulating the temperature of the air before being treated with the subdivided water or spray whereby the absolute humidity of the air may be maintained practically constant for varying conditions 0 the temperature of the air before entering the purifier.

2. In an air purifying apparatus, the combination of a chamber through which air is circulated,.means for heating the air in its desire to secure by Let- I passage into the chamber, means for rovidtreated to the water in subdivided condition mg water in a subdivided condition t rough which the air is passed and maintaining it at a substantially constant tem erature whereby a predetermined absolute iumidity may be obtained for the air at a given temperature, means for removing the excess of moisture from the air, means for transferring the humidified air to the room in which it is to be used, and means through which the air passes for increasing its temperature and lowering itshumidity to the desired relative humidity with which the air is to be supplied to the room, and means controlled by the conditions of the humidified air for regulating the temperature of the air before being treated with the subdivided water or spray whereby the absolute humidity of the air maybe main tained practically constant for varying conditions of the temperature of the air before entering the purifier. I

3. In an air urifying apparatus, the combination of a ciamber through which air is circulated, means for heating the air in its passage into the chamber, means for providing water in a subdivided condition through which the air is passed and maintaining it at a substantially constant temperature whereby a predetermined absolute humidity maybe obtained for theair at a given temperature, means for removing the excess of moisture from the air, and means controlled by the humidified air after being raised in temperature for automatically varying the temperature of the incoming air before it is whereby the absolute humidity of the air may be automatically varied to maintain a practically constant relative humidity in the room.

4. In an air purifying apparatus, the combination of a chamber through which air is circulated, means for heating the air in its passage into the chamber, means for providmg water in a subdivided condition through Which'the air is passed and maintaining it at l a substantially constant temperature whereby a predetermined absolute humidity may be obtained for the air at a given temperature, means for removing the excess of mois- I ture from the air, and means controlled by 1 tor, for regulating the temperature of the air before being treated with the subdivided Water or spray whereby the absolute humidity of the air may be maintained practically constant for varying conditions of the temperature of the air before entering the purifier.

5. In an air purifying apparatus, the combination of a chamber through which the air is circulated, means for providing water in a sub-divided condition through which the air is passed, means for maintaining the water at a substantially constant temperature whereby a predetermined absolute humidity may be obtained for the air at a given temperature, means for removing the excess of vmoisture from the air, means for transferring the humidified air to the room in which it is to be used, and means through which the air passes for increasing its temperature and lowering its humidity to the desired relative-humidity with which the air is to be supplied to the room.

6. In an air purifying apparatus an eliminator consisting of a series of vertical rows of independent trough shaped bars so arranged thatthe bars of one row are staggered with respect to the bars of the next adjacent row or rows, the bottoms and the top rear edges ofthe bars being respectively provided with shoulders B and B and providing passages between the bars around each shoulder for air whereby the air which passes the shoulder at the bottom of one bar is subjected to the action of the'shoulders at the upper rear edge of the next lower bar of the same vertical row and the water collected by the shoulder at the bottom of any bar is delivered to the bar next below together with the water collected by the shoulder at the upper rearedge of the said last mentioned bar.

In testimony of which invention, I have hereunto set my hand.

i WM. G. R. BRAEMER. Witnesses:

JACOB M. HALL, 'MAx R. MILLER. 

